Developers of a hyperloop system for freight have launched an online investment campaign to help fund the roll out of a proposed underground pipe network to transport consumer goods.
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British start up firm Magway aims to raise £750,000 through the Crowdcube site to take forward its sustainable transport idea, which promises to cut road congestion and air pollution associated with an increase in the number of vehicles making internet deliveries.
The company – which has a test facility in Wembley, north London – is initially focused on providing short delivery routes for freight into and out of airports. In around four years it plans to start building longer routes of up to 100km and create a UK network of delivery pipes.
Almost £1.5M of seed funding and grants have already been received by the company, including £650,000 from the Government’s technology innovation agency Innovate UK.
Magway co-founder Rupert Cruise said: “The UK is already one of the most developed online retail markets in the world. As e-commerce sales increase alongside quicker internet deliveries, with new one hour slots promised by retailers such as Amazon, delivery traffic on the UK’s already congested road network will also rise, further impacting air pollution.
“We need big ideas that will change the way we currently deliver goods and the face of transport for years to come.”
Magway works by using a magnetic wave of electrical current, generated by linear motors, to drive multiple freight capsules – known as ‘totes’ – along a track at around 30mph.
The firm says that 94% of London’s daytime population could be within a 15 minute walk or cycle of one of its proposed transport delivery stations.
Rupert insists that the idea is realistic and describes the technology as a “hyperloop for parcels”. But costs are expected to be much less than alternative hyperloop systems, he adds, because the tunnel diameter will be less than one metre, it will not transport people, will not be using magnetic levitation and the freight units will not be moving at “supersonic speed”.
As well as operating beneath cities, it is also thought that Magway infrastructure could be installed alongside the strategic highway network to free up capacity on motorways.
A video explaining the Magway concept is available to view here.
(Image: Magway)
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